ALLEN PARK — The Lions have had an unusual amount of competition for their kicking positions. Dave Rayner did a standout job in challenging 20-year veteran Jason Hanson for kicker before Detroit decided to cut him. Rayner was signed by Dallas yesterday.

The punter competition is coming down to the wire, too. Nick Harris is no shoo-in to make the Lions roster, as well as Ryan Donahue has been punting.

"Both of those guys have punted very, very well - just like our kickers, Schwartz said. "We've been alternating a lot of different ways and things like that and we chart just about every punt that those guys do.

"And hold is also important. When you're a punter you're also a holder, so, you know, those will all be important factors in (this) decision."

Hanson has been very comfortable with Harris holding the ball - they've been working together since 2003. But Donahue's proven to be a reliable holder himself.

"He was clean," Schwartz said. "We used Dominic Raiola on our first extra point. He's our backup snapper and he looked like the backup snapper; he rolled one back and Ryan was able to get it down and get that. It's a little slower operation on an extra point, but he did a good job of digging that out.

"I mean, the goal is not to have a lot of bad snaps, but he's done a pretty good job that way."

- Detroit also announced the release of fullback Jerome Felton, who was the team's fifth-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft. The running strength the Lions needed from Felton never materialized, despite his 6-foot, 246-pound frame, yet he wasn't quick enough to compete with other backs.

"Obviously our fullback position has been de-emphasized," Schwartz said, "and we're using different people in those roles; it was time to make that move."

Talk of the changing culture in Detroit has evolved into a winning culture, one that is noticeable in the strong chemistry among the team and its coaching staff. The only thing left to do now is win.

ALLEN PARK -- Believe it or not, it wasn’t too long ago when conversations of just changing the culture of losing in the Detroit Lions’ locker room was commonplace.

That topic has appeared removed from many radio talk shows, newspaper articles and discussion boards alike this year.

More importantly, it’s been removed from the Lions’ locker room. It has instead evolved.

Time spent observing the assembled group of players representing the 2011 Lions is time spent in the presence of confidence and high expectations.

As a collective unit, there is a different demeanor in this squad. Their playfulness throughout practice speaks volumes to the confidence they have in themselves while their tireless approach and work ethic project the high expectations they have in the team.

It’s not unusual to see receiver Nate Burleson constructively critique a teammate’s technique in both the game of football or in their approach to touchdown celebrations.

If you’re hanging around the practice field, you might hear safety Louis Delmas shouting out lyrics to a song or discussing the most recent play with a fellow safety.

Every morning quarterback Matthew Stafford playfully races to be the first to cross the finish line in the warm-up jog (which isn’t intended to be a race).

He smiles as he crosses the finish line, sometimes high-stepping his way across. That same competitiveness – which can be viewed as humor during warm-ups – is evident in his every action when running the offense.

These occurrences – although they may appear irrelevant to some – put this team’s chemistry on full display. A chemistry that is as strong as it’s been in Detroit for a while.

“The chemistry that a team has each year is different,” said kicker Jason Hanson, the team’s longest tenured player. “This year (there’s been) a little more gelling with personalities and guys, whenever you have continuity it helps.”

The Lions’ continuity has helped – starting at the top.

Three years have passed and the Lions have retained the vast majority of their coaching staff, including the head coach as well as offensive and defensive coordinators.Not only that, either. No one is entering 2011 sitting on a burning seat worried about their job.

The team captains have remained in place and have helped calm as well as push the locker room.

This team is willing to play, laugh and joke together - keeping each other sane through the physical and mental grind known as the NFL season.

Still, for every smile on a face there is equal sweat on a brow. This team is willing to work hard in an effort to meet – and exceed – expectations.

“I think good teams always strike the balance between having fun (and hard work)…” said Hanson. “At the end of day, when it comes time to play, we’re always on the same page and giving everything we have with a focus that’s not satisfied with anything but winning. Regular season is when you find out if you really have it.”

“It’s only fun if you win,” he added.

_________________

Quote:

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

August 31st, 2011, 9:24 am

TheRealWags

Modmin Dude

Joined: December 31st, 2004, 9:55 amPosts: 12488

Re: Killer's Korner

PFT wrote:

Lions’ Jackson calls Logan Mankins “a dirty bastard”

Posted by Michael David Smith on August 31, 2011, 6:29 AM EDT

During last week’s Patriots-Lions game, New England offensive lineman Logan Mankins was flagged for grabbing Detroit defensive lineman Lawrence Jackson by the facemask. Jackson’s teammate Ndamukong Suh stepped in and went after Mankins, and now Jackson is saying that the whole confrontation that went on between the teams is a result of Mankins’ dirty play.

“Yeah, he’s a dirty bastard,” Jackson said. “That’s all. He’s dirty. I kind of called him out on it. Things got a little rough. It seems like defense is always on the short end of the stick in the league. The offense gets away with a lot of stuff, especially the offensive line; 95% of it doesn’t get called.”

Mankins also said he disagrees with the rapidly growing belief around the league that Suh plays dirty.

“I wouldn’t say Suh’s a dirty player,” Mankins said. “I think Suh’s a great player. He’s got a load of talent. He plays good and he plays hard. He defends his teammates. He does all the things that I would want in a teammate.”

Those are some very measured and reasonable comments from a dirty bastard.

I drafted the d when the defense rush started.. My friends called me a homer, but honestly, it's one of the best defenses in the league.

Took the lions D in my draft as the 12th or so off the board. I didnt get any players from the lions this year though it seems with all the national attention they're getting calvin johnson/stafford are being picked at they're appropriate value when every other year they would drop to me.

I was the 3rd overall pick in a 12 team league, took vick and before it came back around to me calvin johnson was taken one pick before me. I was heartbroken.

I drafted the d when the defense rush started.. My friends called me a homer, but honestly, it's one of the best defenses in the league.

Took the lions D in my draft as the 12th or so off the board. I didnt get any players from the lions this year though it seems with all the national attention they're getting calvin johnson/stafford are being picked at they're appropriate value when every other year they would drop to me.

I was the 3rd overall pick in a 12 team league, took vick and before it came back around to me calvin johnson was taken one pick before me. I was heartbroken.

Thanks to Steensn, I have the Lions D in the ESPN Keeper League. LOL ( All the way to the Bank.) LOL

Same league I have Stafford,Calvin, Best, and I used my last pick on LeShoure and stashed him immediately on IR for next year. ROFL. League Championship or bust. Of course I am going to be hurting for players in week 9 when the Lions are on bye. LOL. But, I have Sam Bradford backing Stafford up.

September 1st, 2011, 12:20 am

thelomasbrowns

Player of the Year - Defense

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2822

Re: Killer's Korner

Chris McCoskey (DetNews) was on the main sports talk station here in Chicago this morning, and I was really disappointed with what I heard. He took the opportunity to yuck it up with the Bears' guys and pretty much dump on the Lions. He called Stafford a potential 'cupcake.' What's worse, he was saying totally different things than when he was on Sean Terp and Killer at the start of training camp. Struck me as a guy more interested in moving to a bigger market than giving an unvarnished take on the Lions. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/show/the-mu ... nley-show/ (9/1/11--Hour 3)

Dave Birkett on PFT, on the other hand, was pure class. I've liked him since he was at the Oakland Press, so I'm really happy he's now the Freep Lions beat reporter.

_________________"Good teams don't worry about a whole lot of stuff. They travel, they play, they win. And it doesn't matter where they go, what the time block is, all those kinds of things. They never seem to bother teams that play well, and we want to be one of those teams." -Jim Caldwell

September 1st, 2011, 11:49 am

TheRealWags

Modmin Dude

Joined: December 31st, 2004, 9:55 amPosts: 12488

Re: Killer's Korner

PFT wrote:

Ndamukong Suh on “dirty” rap: I laugh at it

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 8, 2011, 4:22 PM EDT

Getty Images

Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh knows that one of the big subjects of conversation in the preseason was whether he’s a dirty player. He finds that funny.

“I really kind of laugh and chuckle at it,” Suh said on the Jim Rome show. “Because when have I ever gotten a 15-yard penalty or been ejected from a game or anything of that sort? To say that I am a dirty player? Just because I play hard, ferocious and fierce?”

For the record, Suh has had several 15-yard penalties, although he’s right that he’s never been ejected. But Suh reiterated that he believes his strength makes him look like he’s trying to be vicious when he’s really just trying to play good, hard, clean football.

“A lot of times the plays that I make and the tackles I make look a lot worse because I have great God-given ability and talent,” Suh said.

Anyone who thinks Suh is going to change his ways should know that Suh plans to hit people even harder once the regular season starts.

“I’m going to continue to play hard and really, now that it’s the regular season I’m going to turn it up a couple more notches and get after these quarterbacks and offensive linemen,” Suh said.

Teammates grateful Detroit Lions were able to 'steal' Lawrence Jackson from Seattle

There is no unit on an NFL team where depth is at a greater premium than along the defensive line. Being able to rotate in fresh legs up front allows you to get consistent push in the crucial battles along the line of scrimmage.

So when you can pick up a young, quality defensive lineman in exchange for a sixth-round pick, you tend to feel pretty good about it. That's exactly what happened when the Detroit Lions made a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for defensive end Lawrence Jackson prior to the 2010 season.

Jackson, a first-round draft pick in 2008, made a significant impact in his first season in Detroit. In 11 games he recorded 34 tackles and six sacks, five of which came in the final seven games of the season.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh loves having Jackson as a teammate and believes his acquisition was nothing short of a robbery.

"Lawrence is a good friend to me and a guy I felt we stole from Seattle," Suh said. "We got a major steal and I think our front office did a great job with that."

Veteran defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch echoed Suh's sentiments.

"I can't believe we got (Jackson) for what we got him for," Vanden Bosch said. "He proved to be an impact player last year, and that's what he's going to continue to be for us."

Jackson appreciates the kind words from his fellow linemen.

"It makes me feel good," Jackson said. "Being in a situation where you're under-appreciated, not really put in situations where you can help the team, it places a mental burden on you as a player and you start to question things.

"Being on a team like this, with the players we have on the d-line, and them understanding the type of player that I am and appreciating my talents, make me feel good."

Having players of Jackson's caliber in their rotation is a real advantage for the Lions, and one of the key reasons Detroit finished sixth in the NFL last season with 44 sacks.

"Some guys actually start the game, some guys come in five plays later and play like a starter," Suh said. "(Jackson) is a starter in my eyes, and he's a guy that's going to have a big effect."

For Jackson, it's not about starting, it's about making the most of the snaps you play.

"If you get 10 plays, and you're productive on eight of them - at the end of the day if you have a sack or two and five tackles - they don't say how many plays that you played or that you started."

ALLEN PARK - There was hardly any surprise when Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz announced the team's captains for the 2011 season.

"We have good leadership on our team," Schwartz said. "I just announced to the team today our captains are Matt Stafford, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Dominic Raiola and Jason Hanson."

If that sounds familiar, it's because those are same four captains as last season. But in addition to those players, Schwartz announced a new wrinkle.

"We'll also have a captain of the week, just some one out for the coin toss because Jason always kicks and never goes out for a coin toss," Schwartz said. "This week it will be Maurice Stovall. He's been one of our leaders on special teams, and really has done an outstanding job."

Stovall, who was signed with Detroit this past offseason, spent the previous five seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucs, who the Lions face in the season-opener this Sunday.

Schwartz said the addition of a fifth captain will reflect the growing number of leaders in the Lions' locker room.

"We had a lot of guys get a lot of different votes," Schwartz said. "We're not one of those teams that will throw out eight captains for the toss, but we'll reflect the some of the leadership that we have on the team with the other guys will put out there."

Unlike the four primary captains, the selection of the weekly fifth will be selected by the coaching staff and not the players.

San Deigo ranked first it total offense, first in total defense, and still missed the playoffs!

Detroit is considered a team to leap into the playoffs

The draft class of UM from 2007 is the richest draft class for a school ever...

Quote:

Take pride, Lloyd Carr: No draft class in college history has produced the type of contracts that Michigan's Class of 2007 has.

This summer alone, former first-round pick Leon Hall signed a four-year, $39 million extension with the Bengals; former second-round pick LaMarr Woodley signed a six-year, $61.5 million extension with the Steelers; former second-round pick David Harris signed a four-year, $36 million extension with the Jets; former second-round pick Alan Branch signed a two-year, $9 million deal with the Seahawks; and former fifth-round pick Steve Breaston signed a five-year, $20 million deal with the Chiefs.

All together, Michigan's draft class of 2007 earned $165.5 million worth of contracts this summer.